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According to the Korea Economic Daily, South Korea's seventh-largest pension relief company Bumo Sarang invested 59.5 billion won of operating funds last year into the Ethereum-themed stock Bitmine's daily double return leveraged ETF, incurring a loss of 49.3 billion won (approximately 32.73 million USD).A comprehensive review of the 2025 audit reports of 75 pension relief companies shows that 42.7% of the companies have total assets below the advance payments that should be made to clients, meaning that if all clients were to terminate their contracts simultaneously, the companies would be unable to refund the full amount.

According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (Eastern Time May 18), the total net outflow of Ethereum spot ETFs was $86.3066 million.The Ethereum spot ETF with the highest net outflow yesterday was the Blackrock ETF ETHA, with a net outflow of $55.3989 million for the day. Currently, the historical total net inflow of ETHA has reached $11.757 billion. The second was the Fidelity ETF FETH, with a net outflow of $14.6979 million for the day, and the historical total net inflow of FETH has reached $2.183 billion.As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Ethereum spot ETFs is $12.203 billion, and the ETF net asset ratio (market value as a percentage of Ethereum's total market value) is 4.77%. The historical cumulative net inflow has reached $11.745 billion.

According to CoinDesk, the Ethereum Foundation is facing scrutiny over a new wave of departures. On Monday, prominent contributors Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced their departure from the foundation, further intensifying community concerns about staff turnover.In recent months, several core researchers and protocol coordinators, including Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Trent Van Epps, and Alex Stokes, have left or stepped back. Additionally, co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak, who joined in 2025, also left earlier this year.Reports indicate that this wave of departures occurred after the Ethereum Foundation released a new mission statement earlier this year. The statement attempts to redefine the foundation's role in the ecosystem, emphasizing that it is not the "owner" or central authority of Ethereum, but rather one of many supporters.

According to Bloomberg, multinational commodity trading firm Trafigura Group is in discussions with Tether about a pilot project aimed at using the stablecoin USDT for payments at fuel stations in El Salvador. The pilot will focus on gas stations operated by Puma Energy, Trafigura's fuel distribution division, where consumers in El Salvador can pay for fuel or snacks using USDT, which will then be converted to dollars by an intermediary and transferred to Trafigura. The discussions are still in the early stages and require regulatory approval.A spokesperson for Puma Energy stated that the discussions are still in the exploratory technical phase. This is the first known collaboration involving the use of stablecoins between Tether and a major commodity trader. Tether previously indicated that it funded an oil transaction but did not disclose specific details. Tether's CEO stated last November that they plan to "significantly" expand their lending business to commodity traders, having already issued $1.5 billion in loans.

According to The Block, the stablecoin issuer Tether has invested in the cross-border remittance fintech company LemFi, with the specific amount undisclosed. LemFi was founded in 2021 and has raised a total of $85 million, with over 1 million users.As part of this investment, LemFi will integrate Tether's settlement network, using USDT as the settlement layer in its main remittance corridors operating in Africa and Asia, to reduce reliance on traditional payment networks like SWIFT. Both parties stated that they will collaborate to enhance the speed, cost, and transparency of cross-border remittances.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin's monitoring, during last week's decline of BTC -4.3% and ETH -7.7%, the largest treasury companies for Bitcoin and Ethereum both purchased BTC and ETH. The specific purchases last week were:Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR) purchased 24,869 BTC (approximately $2.014 billion) at a price of about $80,985 last week. They now hold a total of 843,738 BTC ($6.5221 billion), with an average cost of $75,700, resulting in an unrealized profit of $1.35 billion (+2.1%).Ethereum treasury company BitMine (BMNR) purchased 71,672 ETH (approximately $161 million) at a price of about $2,251 last week. They now hold a total of 5,278,462 ETH ($1.1312 billion), with an average cost of $3,522, resulting in an unrealized loss of $7.279 billion (-39.1%).

According to official news, Tether announced an investment in the cross-border financial platform LemFi to promote the application of stablecoins in remittance scenarios in emerging markets and to expand the coverage of borderless financial infrastructure.LemFi primarily serves cross-border users living and working in the UK, US, Canada, and Europe, providing financial services for remittances to Africa and Asia. Tether stated that this investment will support LemFi in introducing USD₮ as a settlement layer in major cross-border corridors, replacing the traditional multi-day settlement process of SWIFT, achieving lower costs and near-instant cross-border transfers.Both parties also plan to further expand the stablecoin infrastructure, gradually integrating USD₮ into LemFi's broader product system to provide more stable, transparent, and convenient financial services.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company hopes to promote global financial inclusion by supporting scalable financial solutions and believes that cross-border payments should focus more on speed, cost, and transparency.

Global leading digital asset trading platform Gate released its transparency report for April 2026. As AI capabilities continue to iterate and the RWA asset system expands, the platform is accelerating its evolution towards a multi-asset financial infrastructure, further enhancing its collaborative trading capabilities across spot, derivatives, and tokenized assets.Currently, Gate has served over 53 million users, with more than 4,600 assets listed, and continues to expand its product matrix with TradFi and tokenized stocks, covering over 430 CFDs and more than 70 tokenized stocks. After the AI system completed its V3 upgrade, a unified entry architecture was formed among Web, App, Bot, and independent sites, and the newly launched in-depth research and intelligent push features will significantly enhance user trading and decision-making efficiency.At the same time, the platform continues to strengthen its global brand building and ecological influence. Gate has officially become the official sleeve sponsor of the Inter Milan U23 youth team and has held several large brand events in Hong Kong to celebrate its 13th anniversary, including the "Racing the Future" cross-border exhibition at Victoria Harbour, a blue carpet ceremony, and the GATE GALA anniversary dinner, attracting hundreds of industry representatives, media, and global users.Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han released an open letter during the 13th anniversary, participated in the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, and gave speeches and exchanges at the University of Hong Kong. Dr. Han stated that infrastructure-driven development will become the core of industry competition in the next phase and proposed the concept of "Move Everything On-Chain." In the future, Gate will focus on building infrastructure capabilities, promoting deep integration of RWA, TradFi, DeFi, and AI, and accelerating the construction of a more unified and efficient global financial infrastructure system.

According to iNews24, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea is reviewing whether Hana Bank's acquisition of Dunamu shares violates the "separation of finance and virtual assets" regulatory rules. The virtual assets department of the Financial Services Commission stated that Hana Bank indirectly holds shares in Dunamu through its acquisition of Kakao Investment shares, which is essentially an investment in a virtual asset exchange and will be examined under the same standards.Since 2017, the South Korean government has prohibited financial institutions from holding, purchasing virtual assets, or making equity investments through administrative guidance. If a violation occurs, Hana Bank may not be able to complete the transaction. Future Asset Consulting is advancing the acquisition of Kobit's operating rights, and Korea Investment & Securities is also taking a cautious approach. Hana Bank previously announced the acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu but did not consult with the authorities beforehand.Currently, the "separation of finance and virtual assets" regulation has not yet been codified into law, and it is uncertain whether related provisions will be included in the digital asset bill. Legislative discussions may advance after the National Assembly reconvenes in September at the earliest.

According to SoSoValue data, during the last trading week (Eastern Time May 11 to May 15), Ethereum spot ETFs experienced a net outflow of $255 million. The Ethereum spot ETF with the highest net outflow last week was the Blackrock ETF ETHA, with a weekly net outflow of $185 million, and the historical total net inflow for ETHA has reached $11.81 billion.The second highest was the Fidelity ETF FETH, with a weekly net outflow of $59.88 million, and the historical total net inflow for FETH has reached $2.2 billion. The Ethereum spot ETF with the highest net inflow last week was the Blackrock ETF ETHB, with a weekly net inflow of $5.8296 million, and the historical total net inflow for ETHB has reached $513 million.As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Ethereum spot ETFs is $12.93 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market value as a percentage of Ethereum's total market value) of 4.83%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached $11.83 billion.

Tom Lee, the chairman of BitMine, the largest treasury in Ethereum, stated that if anyone wants to know why Ethereum has been under selling pressure recently: for me, the rise in oil prices is the biggest headwind, and the inverse correlation between ETH and oil is at a historical high.Over the past 6 weeks, while oil prices have continued to rise, the price of ETH has been falling. In the chart, oil prices are displayed inverted (the higher the oil price, the greater the pressure on ETH). Therefore, when oil prices begin to reverse and fall, the price of ETH is expected to rebound accordingly.This is just short-term tactical noise. The real long-term drivers for ETH are asset tokenization and Agentic AI. These structural positives are already in place, so we expect ETH to perform stronger in 2026.

Fundstrat co-founder and BitMine chairman Tom Lee stated on the X platform that Ethereum is currently facing selling pressure, primarily due to rising oil prices, with the negative correlation between ETH and oil prices at a historical high.During the past six weeks of rising oil prices, the price of Ethereum has fallen, and if oil prices retreat, Ethereum is expected to rebound. Lee believes this is a short-term tactical fluctuation, with the larger drivers for Ethereum coming from tokenization and AI agents, as these structural factors are already in place, and it is expected that Ethereum's price will strengthen by 2026.

10x Research released a report stating that since the CPI data was announced on May 13, Bitcoin ETF holders have sold over $1 billion, and market sentiment has plummeted from 87% to 45%, while bond yields continue to rise (30-year yield has reached 5.12%). Inflation has become a focal point again, and cryptocurrencies are feeling the pressure.The report points out that Bitcoin is testing the 30-day moving average, and a confirmed drop below it would indicate a deterioration in momentum. Key levels to watch: $79,125 (short-term bull-bear dividing line) and $76,922 (major support level). Ethereum has triggered a bearish signal. 10x Research indicates that the current pattern is one of "two steps forward, one step back," but the cycle bottom is already in sight.

According to Blockaid monitoring, its vulnerability detection system found that the Verus Ethereum cross-chain bridge (verus.io) is under attack, resulting in approximately $11.58 million in losses.

Italy's largest bank Intesa Sanpaolo will increase its holdings related to crypto assets from approximately $100 million at the end of 2025 to about $235 million in the first quarter of 2026. Among these, the bank has increased its holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock's IBIT, and for the first time allocated Ethereum assets through BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, while also adding approximately $26 million in Grayscale XRP Trust ETF holdings.In addition, Intesa has established a bullish options position in IBIT for the first time and added 165,600 shares of BitGo stock, while completely liquidating its positions related to Bitmine. Its related holdings in Solana have been significantly reduced, with Bitwise Solana Staking ETF holdings decreasing from 266,300 shares to 2,817 shares. Reports indicate that Intesa has previously confirmed that the related crypto assets are primarily used for proprietary trading. Last month, Ripple also announced that it would provide digital asset custody services for the bank.

According to HyperInsight monitoring, Majie aggressively increased its position again after recharging $250,000 last night. As of the time of writing, its total position has approached $14 million, with Ethereum long positions only 3% away from the liquidation line. The details are as follows: Ethereum 25x long position: 5,250 contracts, liquidation price $2,125.2. Bitcoin 40x long position: 25 contracts, liquidation price $65,087. HYPE 10x long position: 7,200 contracts. In addition, with the market declining again, its overall losses from contract operations on Hyperliquid have reached $30.31 million.

According to The Block, sovereign wealth funds, universities, and banks have recently disclosed their 13F holdings reports for the first quarter of 2026. On the sovereign wealth fund side, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala increased its holdings in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker IBIT), raising its share count from 12,702,323 to 14,721,917, adding over $90 million in holdings, with a total holding value of nearly $660 million. Mubadala's Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) maintained its IBIT holdings unchanged, holding 8,218,712 shares valued at $315.8 million.Several university endowments reported that their cryptocurrency ETF holdings remained largely stable. Harvard University's endowment reported holding 3,044,612 shares of IBIT, valued at approximately $117 million. This is a 43% decrease from the 5.35 million shares held at the end of 2025, after Harvard had already reduced its holdings by 21% in the fourth quarter. IBIT is no longer its largest holding (overtaken by TSMC, Alphabet, Microsoft, and SPDR Gold Trust). Harvard also completely liquidated its previously established position in BlackRock's Ethereum spot ETF valued at $86.8 million from the previous quarter.Dartmouth College reported holding 201,531 shares of IBIT, valued slightly above $9 million, unchanged from the previous quarter. The college transferred its Ethereum ETF holdings from Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust to Grayscale's Ethereum Staking ETF, keeping its 178,148 shares unchanged. Dartmouth also disclosed a new holding in Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, holding 304,803 shares, currently valued at nearly $3.67 million. This is the first time an institutional endowment fund has expressed interest in expanding its investment scope beyond Bitcoin or Ethereum into other cryptocurrencies.Meanwhile, Brown University maintained its holdings of 212,500 shares of IBIT, while Emory University simplified its Bitcoin fund holdings from two to one. The school liquidated its 4,450 shares of IBIT while increasing its holdings in Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust from slightly over 1 million shares to 1,354,148 shares.Traditional financial institutions are also actively rebalancing positions and hedging. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) increased its direct holdings in IBIT and enhanced the use of put and call options for hedging. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) increased its holdings by 214,370 shares of IBIT after liquidating its previously held Trump-related U.S. Bitcoin stocks. Barclays also disclosed its IBIT positions, including approximately 4.46 million shares of spot stock and a significant number of put and call option positions related to the ETF. Hong Kong-based Laurore has reduced its IBIT holdings from 8,786,279 shares to 6,846,279 shares.

According to official news, an additional $50 million USDG lending limit is now available on the Ethena market.The leveraged USDe Multiply positions on Kamino are currently generating over 25% APY, and there is additional liquidity available to support further cyclical demand on Solana.